photos!

This is Nell! She and her friend AnaAlise come ever year from the Netherlands and stay to  volunteer for 3-4
months! Nell is showing us her Easter gifts for the 160 children....no wonder the children love them so!



The performers enjoying a snack!



The Staff at the orphanage honored us with a gift for helping to care for their children!



This is Christy with her hand made card from the children!

 

When we arrived there was almost no shoes for the new children coming to live here.
Ana Alise showed us the room and many of our group took it  on themselves to help to restock the shelf!
 16o children....that is alot of feet!!!

A group of children drawing....all of the children that live here are less than 6 years old!

This picture made Judy laugh because the kids on either side of this little girl are helping
 to make sure that not one morsel is missed!

The food is not fancy but it keeps them from being hungry! Notice that even though there are
so many children here....all of the girs have their hair fixed! The workers and volunteers work hard to make
each child feel special!



Judy took this picture....Garret and Hailey....we miss you!

Love, joann =)

Hi All
Have to apologize again for not getting to the computer yesterday! There is so much to do and it seems that I run out of time before I get everything done! I have been working at a dental clinic called Casa de Los Ninos....wonderful place with a good dentist but often in the afternoon we have to stop early beause we run out of sterile instruments. I think that I have stopped by the dental supply store every evening after clinic trying to buy the things we need! I feel very spoiled working in the office that I do back home......everything I need to take care of patients is right there!I was cleaning a patients teeth this afternoon and wanted to floss his teeth and the clinic didnt even have that....but it will tomorrow!
This morning I travelled with Judy, Christy and Alfonso to the baby orpanage and the battered womens´ shelter and the burn center. The burn center had visiting plastic surgeons. Judy had packed along some lidocaine (anesthetic) and when the nurse saw it, she took it right to the Doctors to use that very minute. When they found out that we had brought money to buy medications....one of the Drs actually cried!
It was nice to see the rehabilitation area that we put together along with Smile Power filled with children receiving physical therapy!
Tonight Michelle put together a dinner to celebrate a successful project from last year. She raised money and added alot of her own to help a little girl have open heart surgery.
Everyone sees and experiences things differently and helps in their own way. A group like this is so amazing because everyone brings something different!We have one common goal and that is to try to help someones life better!  =)
It is late tonight....3 hour time difference so here it is already after 11:00 so tomorrow I will send some pictures to catch you up on what has been happening!
Love to you all,
joann =)

MYRNA AND HER NEW FRIEND!



STEPHANIE AND OUR FAVORITE NUN....SISTER ENCARNACION!




WILLIAM AND THE NEWEST MEMBER AT ARANI JESUS!
THE OLDER CHILDREN TAKE SUCH GOOD CARE OF THE YOUNGER ONES!
IT IS SWEET TO WATCH



STEPANIE, MYRNA  AND ME AT A RARE MOMENT WHEN WE ARE ACTUALLY IN THE SAME PLACE AT THE SAME TIME!

JUST A FEW MORE PHOTOS OF TEAM GRAYS HARBOR!

Hi All
Had a fun day at Arani....spent the night with the kids and came home after breakfast with them!

THE BEAUTIFUL COLORS OF THE MARKET!

 BEAUTIFUL FRUITS  AND VEGETABLES

ENRIQUE SHOWING HIS PHOT FROM A FRIEND FROM SUE MCMASTERS CLASS

HAILEY AFTER THE CHILDREN AT ARANI COVERED HER FOREHEAD IN STICKERS!

STUDENTS AT ARANI SHOWING OFF THEIR NEW UNIFORMS THAT SPONSORS BOUGHT FOR THEM!
THANK YOU!

THE STUDENTS IN THEIR SPORTS UNIFORMS AND TENNIS SHOES.......
THANK YOU PHIL AND STACY!
DONT THEY LOOK ADORABLE?

THIS YEARS SMILE POWER TEAM!

GARRET AND HIS NEW GIRLFRIENDS!
tHE KIDS DONT HAVE MANY MEN IN THEIR LIVES SO gARRET,RON AND SAM WERE VERY POPULAR!

Short note tonight but hopefully pictures! I always have to keep my fingers crossed when I am using the hotel computer!   JOANN =)

Hi All
Today I want to show you pictures of our young first time volunteer of our Bolivian project!
Meet Hailey Hofmann...she is 16 years old and from Sacramento. She came down with her Uncle Garret
to help us do projects. She has been absolutely incredible! This is her first time to be this far from her mom, dad and brother and she has helped with nearly every project and seems to love the children as much as they love her. This can be a difficult trip for even the most experience traveller but she has worked tirelessly!

For this Hailey.....I am dedicating todays blog to you.....

pictures!

Me and Silvia at the market buying school supplies!

Garret and I at Salomon Klein doing dentistry!

Me taking a little patient back to his room after dental treatment

Silvia opening her gifts at t!he shower

Hi Everyone
Sorry I can¨t send pictures tonight....I have the only computer in the business office of the hotel that wont accept a camera card! But...I will tell you what went on today and send pictures in the morning!
It was such a busy day.....breakfast with the group and then off to Salomon Klein to see the little children at the dental clinic with Garret. He is a dentist from San Francisco and is fun to work with because he is so good with the children. There is only one chair in that orphanage so I spent the day assisting and blowing up balloons!
There is no way that I will ever be able to forget the word for balloon in Spanish because once the children see them they get excited and want "Globos! Globos! We can only work there in the morning because once the children have lunch.....it is time for a nap! Cranky tired children are no fun to work with!
Lunch at a bakery that Father Theo recomended for empanadas.....yummy!
After lunch we went to do dentistry at Casa de los ninos and bumped into Myrna and Stephanie doing school projects.....the kids really love Stephanie!
It is difficult to do allot of dentistry at one time because the clinic is new and doesnt have allot of instruments...so you have to either just wipe them off and disinfect them or wait until they come through the sterilizer.....more than an hour!
And tonight was the surprise baby shower for our teacher from Arani....Silvia was so surprised! Allot of planning but worth it all when we saw her face! Father Theos birthday was also today.....so we made it a combination shower/birthday  party!
I will get up early enough in the morning to try and send pictures of the comings on here!
It is after 11 here so good night
joann =)